Home Services: How Online Platforms Are Driving Economic Inclusion

From plumbers and electricians to cleaners, gardeners, and locksmiths, Morocco’s home service sector employs tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of skilled tradespeople. These workers fill a critical role for homes and businesses, often responding to urgent needs to resolve everyday household issues. 

Yet, despite their indispensable role, these workers remain underrecognized. Most operate in the informal economy, navigating a fragmented market plagued by structural gaps: inconsistent pricing, lack of safety standards, and minimal access to training or upskilling. These hurdles stifle efforts to professionalize services, improve quality, or sustainably expand operations. 

However, the rapid digitization of recent years — and the rise of organized home-service platforms — is creating new opportunities for workers to raise standards, modernize practices, and ultimately transform their livelihoods.

Inclusion through digital technology

Increasingly essential for both households and businesses due to the comfort and ease they offer, digital platforms and applications are playing a crucial role in driving economic inclusion and enhancing the capabilities of workers. Structured platform support is vital for helping skilled technicians and artisans adapt to new trends, incorporating disruptive digital tools into their workflows—a phenomenon often referred to as the “uberization” of home services.

Hany, a leading Moroccan app for home services, has made this its mission, championing the power of digital technology to enable professionals to grow, professionalize, and become more attuned to their market and time, as emphasized by Ali Benzakour, Hany’s CEO.

For many professionals affiliated with the platform, digital integration has acted as a true catalyst, opening up new horizons. “Learning to use the app through Hany’s training changed my life,” says Souad, a cleaner who joined Hany three years ago.

Mastering the app provides professionals with tangible benefits, including increased visibility, expanded geographic reach, flexibility, independence, and access to a broader, higher-quality clientele. 

The security offered by the platform, particularly in terms of insurance (technicians are covered by liability insurance), price transparency (rates are known in advance), and guaranteed payments, is another frequently highlighted advantage. This security contrasts sharply with the uncertainty and unpredictability that previously characterized their work.

Supply structuring

The rise of online service platforms is positively transforming the market by aligning the supply with a demand that increasingly prioritizes transparency, security, and quality. Platforms like Hany play a crucial role in “structuring the offer through standardization of quality and pricing,” according to its CEO.

This approach ensures a consistent level of service quality in a market that often lacks it. “It’s a key lever for enhancing the perception and value of this professional sector. Building trust in the market is essential,” he explains.

These structural changes invigorate the home services market and directly increase professionals’ income. Technicians and artisans working with Hany can see a 20 to 50% boost in monthly earnings. For some, the platform contributes 80 to 100% of their monthly revenue.

360-Degree Training

The value of structured platforms is evident in the quality and breadth of training they provide to professionals. Carefully selected and highly qualified, technicians and artisans on the Hany app receive continuous support.

“When we talk about training, it’s not just technical topics but also soft skills, such as client management and digital usage,” says Benzakour. This enables professionals to enhance their knowledge in areas like marketing and customer relations, positively impacting their performance and competitiveness.

Training on key business management concepts—account management, finance, legal issues—also improves the entrepreneurial skills and professionalism of technicians and artisans.

Ultimately, for these professionals, there is a clear before and after with Hany. “With some perspective, I see how they’ve evolved over the years,” Benzakour notes. “In many ways, they have become true ambassadors, embodying the values of Hany, and we are proud of that,” he concludes.